I think the idea of an extended art show is great - if enough volunteers are available then I would like to see a Thursday night opening (grand gala of course!) and Friday, Saturday and Sunday instead of Sat Sun and Mon. Monday is not a good day sales wise - but then I guess Friday is a very busy end of week day too, so.....
I do feel that as it is competitive then we could expect a huge number of entries if the prize money is good. Gold Rush has had around 400 entries in the last two years. We could not cope with this number. Maybe limiting the number of entries per person to one per section with no more than two or three in total? And maybe keeping the prize money low (as well as the entry fee) would hold back those after the BIG money. But even if the prize money is low there could still be a lot of paintings entered. The Gympie Show Society has prize money $12, $8, $6, 1st, 2nd and 3rd with an entry fee of 70 cents and they have a large number of paintings entered. The size of paintings may have to be limited as well so that more can be displayed. I know the show will be Art and Craft combined and I'm a bit concerned about the space available for each. This will need a bit of thought.
My idea of having 3 judges stems from the high cost of getting a judge and the fact that a number of judges' decisions in the past have been controversial - and although this can bring in more viewers to the show to see the results (popular or unpopular) it doesn't please the masses who cannot understand why such and such a painting can be awarded first prize - two good examples of this are the Gold Rush Art 2006 & 2007.
I've been tossing this around for a while now to see if it would be possible to get three well respected and accomplished local, or near local artists with differing preferences in art work - say, one could prefer landscap/seascapes, another could like abstracts, and another, portraits/still life etc etc etc. Sure, it wouldn't be possible to cover everything but so long as there were not three using the same medium and painting the same subject matter only, it wouldn't matter.
They could be given a sheet to mark each painting (as individuals - that is, each would be viewing and marking a different painting at any one time) with factors to mark on a scale of 1 - 5 composition, tonal values, effective use of medium, and the WOW factor. These are a few I've just plucked out of thin air - there are other points that may be more applicable.
What do you think?
Another idea I had is to ask the local school art class (?) to visit just after hanging is completed and get them to choose the paintings in each section they think should win - like a people's choice but the winners of this could be announced at the Opening of the Show rather than at the end of the show (as now happens in some comps). Maybe inviting a group of folk from a retirement home in M'boro or such to do this as well. Maybe, just one painting could be chosen for best in show or one in each section.. Doing something like this can get a whole lot of "free" advertising in newspapers, editorials, TV coverage etc etc because we would be doing something completely different. This is what we need - to get up and be a bit different in how we present the show or in some other way. The big aim is to grab people's attention and get them to come along and see "WHY, HOW, WHAT," ...and go away to tell others "Get over to Tiaro Art Show!"
So, these are my ideas for now. Please toss them around or throw them out but maybe there's an idea there that may spark another good idea somewhere else. I'd love to hear what you all think - yay, or nay, or even a maybe.
Regards to you all,
Glenda
Something to think about anyway.
Josie (Comment this)
Cheers Trev (Comment this)
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Cheers Trev (Comment this)
thanks TK for the initial email. There is a lot to absorb from that. My time is really tight as my official work days are Monday, Thursday, Friday and then "on-call" for Tues, Wed and Saturdays with plenty to get done on my commission work in between. I might not be able to attend meetings in person, however, I am keen to help out with suggestions and contacts to launch our "new look" event for Tiaro.
A few items that are glaring at me are: the timing (i.e. AUGUST. We need to check against other shows being held at this time of year.) Hervey Bay Art Society used to have their very successful show in September every year, but last year they switched to August. Because I had committed to this event I was unable to submit entries into last year's Tiaro event. My suggestion is to check with HBAS and confirm exactly when they will be holding their event this year and strongly advise against having ours at the same time. Not only does it polarise artists entries but also reduces our chances at sponsorship from local supporters. Another event to avoid clashing with is the Toowoomba based MacGregor Winter School (which I have heard is being held in Hervey Bay this year and may even clash with / and may even jeopardise the Heritage City Annual Art Festival workshops being held in Maryborough early July 2008). I think it would be almost fatal to hold an arts event in competition with this juggernaut, particularly in our "maiden" run. We also need to check if St. Mary's competition is again being combined with MAS's comp OR if they are going it alone, in which case we need to know dates. My suggestion would be to hold our event in early June (before school holidays - dates of which will also need to be confirmed) before the major events of long-running local shows/competitions, OR after September (HBAS), which will then need to be cleared against the Cooloola Art Society's "Gold Rush Art Comp." in Gympie. I'm sorry if this has thrown up a bit of a headache but I feel it needs to be looked at.
Another issue which is particularly unpopular but equally important: INSURANCE - many artists are reluctant to display work that may be damaged / stolen at unattended and / or inadequately secured premises (refer to my previous mention of "school holidays"). I am aware of the signed disclaimer usually included in competition entry conditions (something else that has to be attended to), and many artists still refrain from displaying because of the insurance issue. I don't think anyone can change that but I think we should try to reduce risk whever possible.
Artist always will want their pictures hung in the best light possible to enhance their chances of taking a prize - that's human nature, so choosing a venue that has best possible lighting is critical. The Memorial Hall has a lot of "dark" timber wall linings which does not reflect light well. I am unaware of the space available and the lighting situation of the Community Centre, but perhaps this may be the venue of choice if it is deemed superior in these areas. Once again, this may seem trivial, but we need to maximise our chances of a successful show if we want this to become an ongoing annual event.
As Janess is aware, the Maryborough Art Society has a "Kath Hoffman" encouragement award at its annual Heritage City Art Festival and is given to a member of the Society whose work is judged to have improved the most in the previous 12 months. Perhaps we could have a similar award judged by and/or named in recognition of Phil Grimwade's contribution to the arts in the district. This could be awarded to an emerging artist, youth artist or even disabled artist. Your thoughts here everyone.
As for the lack of a local government body to sponsor the event, I wonder if the time wouldn't be perfect to test the loyalty of the new super council to its outlying communities and press for funding/sponsorship. We could certainly put them in the spotlight on this issue.
My personal point of view with categories: MAS has too many similarly grouped sections while HBAS has too few sections and they have lumped together unassociated subjects into one section. I would imagine judging these categories akin to comparing trapeze artists against the elephants. Too difficult!! My thoughts only. I certainly support the "panel of judges" idea over a single judge (mainly for the express interest of making it easier for that task).
These are my initial concerns/ideas and they are all certainly up for discussion.
Cheers
Bette
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Glenda. (Comment this)
You mentioned the dates of other shows and this is something I hadn't thought of at this time. Glad you mentioned it because there are only so many Art Shows that one can enter - it takes quite some time to plan and get paintings completed so that you do tend to aim for a few particular shows. If we can, can we get the dates of all Wide Bay and Cooloola Coast shows asap so that we can make it known as wide as possible when our show will be? If we get in early it would be to our benefit.
Glenda (Comment this)
Cheers
Josie (Comment this)
If you are having a competition exhibition then you need to book the community centre and keep it separate. Also remember there are more than just painters out there. There are potters, wood workers, fibre artists, etc as well and it would be good to get different medium of work for a change. A competition would probably encourage this more I think. Stall holders that reflect these arts would be good too.
Just my thoughts
Ann Chan
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yes we have also booked the Community Centre for the 3 days of the exhibition, August 9,10,& 11. There are a lot of different catergories and we welcome them all, one of the large ones being photography, which we have already secured sponsors for - Friendlies, Maryborough, and we are looking for more sponsors, so any businesses can contact us by email - secretary@tiaropromotions.com.au
Thanks for your thoughts
Josie (Comment this)